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Tennessee population growth slower than national average

Tony Gonzalez;, The Tennessean;
2:12 p.m. CST December 30, 2013

Clarksville is one of the nation’s fastest growing cities — driving traffic jams, as seen here in March — but overall population growth slowed in Tennessee in 2013 according to the latest census estimates released Monday.
(Photo:
File / Gannett Tennessee
)

Tennessee’s population growth slowed in 2013, trailing the rate of growth in the nation and the otherwise fast-growing South, according to new census estimates released today.

Tennessee added 41,064 residents in the past year, and now has a total population of 6,495,978, which still ranks 17th in the nation. The rate of growth was down from the year before.

North Dakota’s population boom, driven by the state’s thriving oil and gas industry, continued this year, expanding at nearly twice the rate of the next-fastest-growing state.

The West and South continued to drive population growth nationally, accounting for more than four in five new residents, while growth in the Northeast and Midwest continued to lag behind.

Population estimates are eagerly watched by state officials since they determine the flow of money into many federal programs and, ultimately, representation in Congress. The number of representatives each state has in the House gets readjusted each decade.

California (38,332,521) and Texas (26,448,193) remain the nation’s most populous states, with New York (19,651,127) narrowly maintaining its third position over Florida (19,552,860) as of July 1. The Sunshine State will soon surpass New York, if it hasn’t already, because its population grew three times faster, according to the census estimates, which are based on data measuring births, deaths and migration.

California’s population growth again outpaced the national trend, with an increase of 332,643 year to year, or 0.9 percent. Texas actually saw a greater raw population increase, however, expanding by 387,397.

North Dakota’s population stood at 723,393 on July 1, according to the census data, a 3.1 percent increase from 2012. Since the 2010 census, North Dakota’s population has grown 7.6 percent, far outpacing the national growth rate of 2.4 percent during that period.

West Virginia and Maine actually saw slight population declines in the last year. Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Vermont and Illinois posted the slowest population growth, all at or near a tenth of a percentage point year to year.

The national population stood at 316,128,839 on July 1, an increase of 2.3 million, or 0.7 percent from the previous year. Population growth in the South accounted for half of all population growth nationally, though the West grew at a slightly faster pace in the last year.